Sterile, ready for use bandages have become virtually indispensable today in the treatment of minor cuts and scrapes: Indeed one of the reasons for their popularity is the fact that they are less frequently shipped in rolls to be snipped as needed with scissors, but are packaged individually.
Conventional adhesive tapes are available in many types, sizes and shapes. A standard bandage is composed of a decorative (or plain) flexible backing of fabric, paper plastic or similar material with a somewhat smooth adhesive coating on one surface. This adhesive is typically pressure-sensitive and is covered with a removable paper. Near the centre of the bandage strip is a piece of gauze or gauze-like material. It is this material which covers the wound. When the bandage is placed over a wound, the cover paper is removed from the adhesive, and the bandage is secured on the skin with the central cotton pad over the wound.
Unfortunately removal of such bandages is invariably associated with pain. In a typical application of such bandages, hair becomes matted and stuck fast under the adhesive and is literally "torn" from the skin upon bandage removal. In addition, depending on the state of the wound, bandage removal can disturb the wound resulting in fresh trauma and bleeding. Those most afflicted with pain include children and individuals with more vellus or bodily hair. Currently it is believed that a good fast tug on the bandage strip is the most humane way of removing the bandage.
A number of inventions have been created with a view to reducing the amount of pain or discomfort associated with removal of bandages. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 5,772,623 by Stephen Conte provides a bandage with a tab portion to facilitate a users' ability to locate an acceptable edge of a bandage for the purposes of removal. However, this process merely prevents any injury to the skin surface which results from trying to start removal of the bandage, i.e., the advantage of Conte's invention resides in the facilitation of a lifting edge of the bandage. It does not reduce the pain associated with removal of the body of the bandage.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,885,559 which issued to George Economou teaches the use of adhesive layers and regions of lesser adhesiveness in an alternating fashion along the length of an adhesive tape such that the alternate layers are positioned in the expected direction of removal. The criteria for design include that each region of lesser adhesiveness is generally of a width less than each adjacent layer of adhesive, and that the minimum width of each region of lesser adhesiveness be approximately 0.02 inches, or 0.5 mm. This adhesive arrangement, whilst similar in appearance to an earlier arrangement (see U.S. Pat. No. 2,339,545) is said to provide an adhesive tape with bands of adhesion alternating with bands of reduced adhesion over bands of predetermined distances. It is this spacing premised on pain receptor distribution which is central to the claimed reduction in pain. While there may be some reduction in pain associated with this bandage, it does not account for the issue of pain associated with adhesion to hair and to provide a means for pain reduction if the bandage is other than elongated. Furthermore manufacture of such bandages requires strict adherence to laying down layers of adhesion.
Consequently, what is needed is an improved method for removing a bandage with minimal trauma to tissue as well as a bandage strip with good adhesive qualities, yet minimization of pain and discomfort upon removal.